buon ricordo card and plates
 

the San Francisco Chronicle has in the Sunday travel section today an article about the buon ricordo card. It states that with the free membership card, when you order the restaurant's special buon ricordo dish, you also receive from the restaurant a 9 inch, handpainted ceramic collectable plate, each unique to the individual restaurant! As I love to bring home special prizes from my trips, this sounds fun!
So I emailed a card request to the website
[email protected] and am HOPING to get the card before we leave in just 5 weeks!!
Have any of you used the card? If the card does not arrive in time, can you still recieve the collectable plates if you order the appropriate menu item???? Does anyone know if they actually mail you a card, or if you get an email? Thanks!

I've never done the card thing but have purchased several plates on ebay. It has been my understanding that if you order the special dish you get the plate , with or without the card!

Such fun and good luck on your quest!

There have been several threads over the years about Buon Ricordo. Take a look at this one - http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34412607

Their website is www.buonricordo.com and should explain about the program.

You definitely can get the plate without the card, or at least you could in the few Buon Ricordo places I have eaten in. I never got the plate because I never ordered the featured item.

Buon Ricordo is notoriously slow in sending out the cards. You might want to send them an email telling them you are leaving for Italy in five weeks and would like to have the card for the trip because you want to try several restaurants. That might spur them to get it out quickly. If they send you a reply email telling you that they received your request, you could print that out and bring it with you in the event the card doesn't arrive in time. Show it to the restaurant and they may sitll offer you the discount or gift.

I've never heard of the card, but we stayed at ate at the lovely Hotel Gardsana. My partner ordered the special meal, and yes we have the wonderful hand painted plate it was served on (OK, they actually brought him an unused and boxed plate). We ate at another place where they were doing the same thing, but neither of us ordered the special meal. I don't get what the point of the card is.

Neo - You get various gifts and discounts with the card.

If you are a cardholder, certain Buon Ricordo member restaurants offer a discount (usually 10%)on your total bill or they give a an extra gift (besides the plate) like a bottle of local olive oil, a bottle of wine, a print etc.

OK, I guess that explains it. From the original post I thought it was just about getting the plates.

Neopolian_ well for me it IS all about the plates, so I am happy I can get them even without the card, as others have mentioned. The extra other card perks would be nice too, but not my driving force (I'm the *travel prizes*
girl, remember? :))
In my email to buonricordo I did in fact include that we leave at the first week of May, so hopefully that will indeed speed things up.
In addition, on their website I did not see any restaurants listed for Sienna, though on another site I saw a picture of one...are there more restaurants on the "plate program" then are listed on the site???

Well this sounds intriguing - What are the Buon Ricardo restaurants in Venice or Rome?

Thanks

The website lists the current member restaurants. Siena does not have a restaurant. What other site were you looking at? Siena may have had a member restaurant many years ago (I've been collecting for over 10 years and haven't seen a Siena member)and an old plate may be available for sale. There are other Italian societies like Touring Club Italiano and others that do or have given out souvenir plates of their own. They are not Buon Ricordo plates however. A complete list of Buon Ricordo members in Venice and Rome can be found at the website given in an above post.

Hi daisy, I saw that interesting article also!

Are you going to be in Verona by any chance? If so do try to dine at 12 Apostoli. It is listed on the BuonRicordo list of restaurants. This is a beautiful restaurant..a real jewel.

Loveitaly, thanks for reminding me of the other place I mentioned that I couldn't remember. 12 Apostoli is a great restaurant and we loved it, but didn't order the special dinner and didn't get the plate.

hi loveitaly!!
no plans to visit verona, what about the touring club of Italy?? I think I may become a plate-a-holic! What a super cool souvenier huh? I have already been scoping out places in my home to put them!
ps loveitaly-I know you live in Solano county, right? And I live in Sonoma county...did your eyes perk up when you saw the title and picture on the SF Chron front page or what!!! We MUST get together! XOXO daisy (cheryl) (:)

Hi daisy, I read the SF Chron's website, since I moved to Vacaville I don't subscribe to the Chron as the delivery service here is terrible. I was on the website yesterday, didn't see the picture..what was it? Good from the sounds of it. Now I am curious.

Hi Neo, glad I mentioned 12 Apostoli, as I love it also. BTW, friends in Veneto consider it a very special restaurant also.

You receive the plate with the restaurant's name and meal on it when you order the Buon Ricordo meal and only that meal. The little plate is an extra if you have the card. You do not need the card and it took months for mine to arrive four years ago. Some restaurants give you a discount or a boolte of wine with card.

I am gazing with fond gastronomic nostalgia at my Buon Ricordo plate right this minute. It was obtained 2 years ago at Ristorante Hotel "Giardino" in San Lorenzo in Campo (Les Marches) for the most amazing papparedelle con coniglio in umido-an incredible two part rabbit stew/pasta dish that was just one of the food and service delights of a two day stop in this often overlooked part of Italy. Thank you for reminding me...

I sent an email to [email protected]
on Sunday April 2 requesting the card for our May trip. I received today an email April 6 (only 3 business days later, so I was impressed) that was clearly a personally written email, not an auto-response one. They said they would send the card out "as soon as possible". In my research for this trip, one thing I learned is that asap to us is not asap in Italy...should I be optimistic I will receive the card in time??